Mother Credits $7 Tool With Saving Both Her, Her Son Following 101 Freeway Wreck

ENCINO (CBSLA.com) — A mother credits a seat belt cutter with saving both her and her son following a wreck on the 101 Freeway.

"I got rear-ended and my car locked up," said Makize Zarabi, who had been traveling on a stretch of the thoroughfare in Sherman Oaks at the time of the accident.

Following the crash, she found herself trapped in her SUV right in the middle of traffic.

"My seat belt locked up. Smoke filled up into my car and my son was in the backseat," she said.

She says her first thought was her 3-year-old and she started to panic.

"I saw all the smoke and I couldn't get out. I tried un-clicking the button and it wouldn't work. And then I realized, 'Oh, the one tool that I have I can finally use it,' " she said.

Six years ago, Zarabi says she bought a seat belt cutter, a plastic device with a blade along one edge, which she kept in her side compartment.

She said she grabbed it.

"I cut myself out of my seat belt and then jumped into the backseat," she said.

She then cut out her son, whose car seat belt had locked as well.

Within minutes, both were out.

"This $7 tool that I had bought saved my son and I," she said.

Zarabi is now hoping to spread the word about the importance of keeping a device like this in everyone's vehicle.

She wrote about her experience and posted it to a mommy group on Facebook and so far has received dozens of responses.

Zarabi suffered a back injury from the crash, but says she and her son are lucky to be alive.

She hopes her story will help others.

"As long as it saves one person, I'm happy with that," she said.